Final Fantasy XIV’s latest crafting and gathering content Cosmic Exploration was released at the end of April, and Eorzea’s masochistic grind lovers flocked to check it out — myself included. While I sit in the afterglow, having just completed the bulk of the grind, here are my key takeaways.
Overall, Cosmic Exploration took an old formula from The Firmament (content added during the Shadowbringers expansion) and implemented quality of life updates. The main change is the process for progressing the various tools for crafters and gatherers, which has been incredibly streamlined.
- Step one, begin a quest from the quest log.
- Step two, craft or gather the required items
- Step three, hit the report button.
Repeat until you have all the points required to progress to the next stage of your tool.
READ MORE: Review | Promise Mascot Agency (PlayStation 5)
You will also receive class experience if your crafter or gatherer is not yet level 100. This process was incredibly satisfying to grind through, leaving me muttering “just one more stage” as I crept ever past my bedtime.
Space Travel
After accepting the unlock quest from a lost Loporrit (a bunny from the moon) in Old Sharlayan, players are sent to space to assist in building a new facility to research and explore the solar system.
By crafting and gathering on the moon, players contribute to the overall build of the base which progresses in stages and has a unique progression to each world server. As the base expands with new structures, fast travel pads can be unlocked that help players navigate the map, a great functional upgrade that makes the server progression feel meaningful. In The Firmament, all upgrades to the base were purely cosmetic.
READ MORE: Review | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PlayStation 5)
At each phase of upgrade, there is an accompanying FATE (real time event) that players need to complete to progress to the next stage of the build. Unfortunately these FATE’s were incredibly basic and involved players clicking on a battery, waiting for a bar to finish, then clicking on a charging station to charge said battery, indicated by another bar, before putting the battery back where it came from. This would be fine, however the events took about 20-30 minutes to complete. While players made it fun by partaking in humorous banter in global chat channels, the content itself was mind numbing and left a lot to be desired.
You better believe I still sat there and charged those batteries as fast as I could!
Mech Ops and Red Alerts
Another welcome change was the addition of Mech Ops and Red Alerts. Mech Ops are FATEs that occur frequently where players go and burn fungi or smash rocks with drills to earn rewards. There are only two of these events so they got old very quickly but provided a welcome change of pace from the never ending crafting grind. Red Alerts are less frequent but unlock limited time quests that provide increased credits compared to normal quests.
READ MORE: Review | Croc Legend of the Gobbos (Switch)
Cosmocredits and Lunar Credits are currencies earned by completing most forms of content on the moon. They can be used to unlock various cosmetic items such as a mount, minion, outfits, dyes, and more. Some can be purchased directly from a vendor, others need to be won through a spinning wheel that grants random rewards.
Final Fantasy XIV’s Cosmic Exploration is a great entry point for crafting for new players, and provides a satisfying grind for experienced crafters looking to sink their teeth into new content. It’s available now — so go harvest the moon and check it out for yourself!
Disclosure: The writer, Paul Jones, previously worked for an agency associated with Square Enix but is no longer affiliated with the publisher.
